The Awakening: Banned Books

Condemned as scandalous and immoral upon its release, Kate Chopin’s The Awakening still stirs controversy over a century later. The novel boldly explores themes of female desire, independence, and identity in a repressive society. Dover’s Banned Books edition uncovers the outrage that The Awakening sparked in 1899—and why it continues to be labeled obscene by organized book-ban campaigns that push to censor this classic novel.